Final Fantasy X-2 is a Role-Playing Game developed and published by Square Enix. It was originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2003, followed by an HD remaster for the PS3 and PS Vita in 2014, for the PS4 in 2015, for the PC in 2016, and for the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One in 2019. MSRB is $50. I played the Nintendo Switch version. Spoiler Warning: I will be spoiling the major plot twists of both Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2.
Much like Final Fantasy X, I first saw Final Fantasy X-2 at my friend’s house in the mid-2000s. Like with Final Fantasy X, my friend let me play X-2‘s opening hours during one of our many sleepovers. This time, I was charmed by the quirky girls-only journey of Yuna, Rikku, and their new friend, Paine. This game still stands out to me as having one of the most unique premises in any RPG, and I’m surprised that no one else has tried to replicate such an eccentric and dynamic group of characters. I was excited to finally play through it this summer as an adult.
I thought X-2 would be a fun second romp through Spira. People seem to dismiss it as nothing more than fluff. I was surprised, then, to find that this RPG presents one of the most nuanced stories I’ve ever seen about a woman after her faith transition. Much like Tidus had to grieve in Final Fantasy X, Yuna has her own journey of grief to go through in the sequel.
Where Do I Go From Here?
To recap, High Summoner Yuna had dedicated her life to giving the people of Spira hope. She was an esteemed leader in the worship of Yevon. More than that, she made the biggest sacrifice anyone in Spira could conceive of: embarking on a pilgrimage to defeat Sin, a victory that would cost her life. To have that level of devotion, you need to have a strong conviction in the cause you believe in, the faith that can move mountains. And yet, throughout her pilgrimage, Yuna discovered how corrupt her religion was. Not even their god, Yevon, was innocent. The Aeons that Yuna summoned were merely puppets that Yevon used to his own ends. At the end of the game, Yuna and her guardians rebelled against the church, dismantled the leadership, destroyed the Aeons, defeated Sin, and destroyed Yevon himself. No more gods, no more cycles, no more sacrifices. Unfortunately, the Aeons had summoned Tidus from the past to help Yuna in Spira; so without the Aeons’ magic keeping him alive, he disappeared.
In other words, Yuna’s church was a high-demand religion, and Yuna’s story in Final Fantasy X was about her faith transition.
For those who don’t know, living in a high-demand religion requires a lot from you. It’s called “high-demand” for a reason, after all. These churches indoctrinate you to wrap up your values, identity, and even self-worth based on their teachings. The further embedded you become in the religion, the harder it is to leave, and the more the church can extract out of you. Dr. Steven Hassan has developed a model called the BITE model to describe how cults and cult-like organizations keep their members in line by controlling Behavior (B), Information (I), Thoughts (T), and Emotions (E). And unfortunately, the religion of Yevon follows this model rather well. Yuna ends her journey by literally killing her god — a god that demanded everything from her. She’s exhausted. On top of that, she has to deal with the loss of Tidus, a boy that she dearly loved, and a boy that supported her throughout the pilgrimage.
On the surface, you might think that Final Fantasy X-2 is a fun road trip with Yuna and her gal pals Rikku and Paine. You’re not entirely wrong. There’s certainly a stylistic charm to it all, and the developers themselves said they were inspired by Charlie’s Angels to make the group feel lighthearted. They are the Gullwings, searching the world for priceless artifacts called spheres. But soon enough, we learn that they’re not hunting spheres just for the fun of it. Rikku had found a sphere that contains a movie recording of a man that looks like Tidus. Maybe Tidus is out there, somewhere.
Once you realize that the Gullwings is all just a front, you can see Yuna’s existential crisis going on underneath. Her religion, as corrupt as it was, provided meaning and purpose. Her role, while all-consuming and unhealthy, was at least well-defined. She knew what to do, how to do it, and why. All of that is taken away from her now. She now has to figure out her own purpose, and it’s a daunting task for her. She struggles to know who she really is and what she really wants. For the first time in her life, the Gullwings is allowing her to have fun for its own sake. She’s almost drunk with her new freedom. Unfortunately for Yuna, the world of Spira isn’t going to let her indulge in this for long.
A New Role
Without a religion to unite them, the people of Spira have begun to splinter off. Two factions have risen up in the aftermath of Sin’s defeat — The Youth League and New Yevon. The two begin to clash, and it looks like there may even be war between them if tensions escalate high enough. Only Yuna has the power to unite Spira. But she’s not ready for it. Sphere hunting is her vacation from being a leader, a chance to finally have something for herself. And so she puts off giving the people direction, and the people get more embroiled in conflict.
However, the fun begins to lose its luster when she doesn’t have an overarching goal for herself. She relies on Rikku suggesting they become “Your Friendly Neighborhood Gullwings” as a temporary crutch. We are watching Yuna trying to wrestle with feeling responsible for Spira while still trying to do things on her own terms. She’s forming a new role for herself that won’t require her to sacrifice everything again. In fact, the gameplay mechanic of the Garment Grid, this game’s version of a Job System, is rather symbolic of Yuna and her friends exploring new roles. Jobs and Classes are some of the oldest mechanics in RPGs, and they’re a well-known staple to the Final Fantasy series. However, the way X-2 contextualizes this system, switching dresses with over-the-top Magical Girl transformation sequences, not only makes it stylish — it makes combat feel like a genuine part of Yuna’s character development.
As difficult as it is to stay in a high-demand religion, leaving it is just as terrifying. You’re casting aside everything that you’ve ever known and you have no idea where you’ll end up. You mourn your past self. You have to deconstruct everything you took for granted, and then try to form a new sense of self. This reconstruction process takes time, but as you find a new place for yourself in a new world, you can begin to feel a sense of purpose again, one that you feel more ownership over.
Yuna’s reconstruction is just a little bit more fantastical than ours. It includes finding mysteries within Spira’s dark past, confronting resurrected Aeons, and clashing with the world’s group leaders. But eventually Yuna starts to find balance again. She finds a role that finally suits her: the Singer Dressphere. Yuna acquires a special connection to this Dressphere thanks to its former wearer’s connection with the boy in the sphere recording they found at the beginning of the game. No, the boy is not Tidus. But by helping this long lost couple handle their grief, she learns to process her own. Near the end of the game, Yuna uses the Singer Dressphere to put on a magical concert that’s so spectacular, the opposing groups finally set their differences aside. Yes, it’s a silly way to solve Spira’s problems, but it perfectly wraps up Yuna’s character arc.
What Can I Do For You?
Through both Final Fantasy X and its sequel, Yuna has become one of my all-time favorite video game characters. I too have felt the loneliness and listlessness that comes with a faith transition. I have wrestled with reconstructing my concepts of the universe, evaluating my values, and building a new self. And I experienced all that while still receiving male privilege, both before and after that faith transition. For the women, people of color, and queer people who leave high-demand religions, that process can be even more complicated. I hope Yuna can be a source of inspiration for someone experiencing these dramatic life changes, the same way that she has been for me. May we all find a Dressphere that best suits our style, or be happy with an ever-changing wardrobe of roles to fulfill.
Hookshot, Charge Beam, Revive 